Governor Jim Doyle hopes the state will continue moving ahead as a leader in stem cell research.

Wisconsin has seen work with stem cells boom under Governor Doyle, with the UW-Madison adding facilities to explore the science and private companies locating here so they can be closer to that research and talent. [Read more…]

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold says cutting off embryonic stem cell research would be an inhuman thing to do.

Feingold is attacking Republican opponent Ron Johnson over his opposition to embryonic stem cell research. The Middleton Democrat says Johnson’s support for ending federal funding for the work going on in Wisconsin would drive high tech jobs out of the state, into other states and countries where funding is easier to find. [Read more…]

Concerns raised in the race for governor about embryonic stem cell research are prompting members of the industry to speak up. Republican candidate for governor Scott Walker says he wants the state to support adult stem cell research, instead of work using embryonic stem cells.

While Walker will not say if he’d support a ban on using stem cells derived from human embryos, he has said he would shift state resources away from the work in favor of studying adult stem cells if he’s elected Governor. [Read more…]

The Democratic candidate in the race for governor continues to go after his Republican opponent’s views on stem cell research.

Democrat Tom Barrett has been criticizing Republican Scott Walker in ads and on the campaign trail for saying he’d stop state funding for embryonic stem cell research. Barrett is also attacking Walker for not answering questions on if he supports a ban, saying he’s refused to answer the question to reporters. [Read more…]

With a format more like a conversation than their first meeting the candidates for Governor went round two Friday night.

During the second debate between Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a town hall participant asked on how to prevent brain drain, talented human capital leaving Wisconsin. Barrett says stem cell research is a key solving that problem. He takes issue with his [Read more…]

With Election Day less than a month away, the candidates for Wisconsin governor are crisscrossing the state and staking out their issues, but it’s not always easy for voters to keep up with who’s talking about what. In Madison on Thursday, Democrat Tom Barrett went after Republican Scott Walker on the issue of stem cells. “Scott Walker’s continued phony claim that embryonic stem cell research doesn’t matter, or that the same breakthroughs and discoveries can be achieved with adult stem cells,” Barrett said. “I believe it is the scientists who should be making this determination. Barrett said Walker’s support of adult stem cell research doesn’t mean he supports the sort of work being done at UW Madison. [Read more…]

The state joins national efforts to ensure that federal funding is available for stem cell researchers in Wisconsin, so says Governor Jim Doyle at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking at the University of Wisconsin Waisman Center; Governor Doyle says losing the millions of dollars in federal grants will be detrimental to Wisconsin’s biotech industry. He wants Congress to repeal the Dickey-Wicker amendment and he’s prepared to file a friend-of-the-court brief. “We will do it in conjunction with the University, and [Read more…]

A US District court ruling this week blocked federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, although the Justice Department is expected to appeal. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Democratic candidate for governor, hopes the decision will be overturned.

If it that doesn’t happen, Barrett says he’d do everything in his power as governor to keep stem cell research going in Wisconsin. He says that includes looking at opportunities for the state to support the industry. [Read more…]

The Democratic candidate for governor is defending UW research using embryonic stem cells. There’s been groundbreaking work on Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, or IPS cells, derived from adult stem cells, at the University of Wisconsin. But Democrat Tom Barrett said Monday that doesn’t mean researchers should be restricted in use of embryonic stem cells. “It was only because of the advances in embryonic cell research that we’ve been able to reach the IPS,” Barrett told reporters during a tour of the Waisman Clinical BioManufacturing Facility on the Madison campus. “To have people tying the hands of the people doing the work here is wrong.” [Read more…]